manicgecko

follow up - turns out some of you are prophetic as two "VIP's"?? in caching just stormed through the area... apparently they cannot waste their time on difficult caches...

ok Random reviewer was a bad word choice - I do not know this reviewer, do not know their style. I just thought it odd that they forced the CO to check on a cache just because a team of cachers went through, who spend less than 5 minutes on each cache, and added a cut and paste DNF. I have received notifications from other cachers on my own caches as well as reviewers, requesting me to check on a cache, without it being disabled in the past. I was just hoping this is not a new trend.

OK quick question. Do reviewers have criteria to randomly disable caches after a series of DNF's. I see a bunch on 4 and 5 difficulty caches has been disabled after a string of DNF's. Including 4-5 that have been cut and paste from a large group that came through the area finding an average of 13+ caches an hour. Correct me if I am wrong, but doesn't a higher difficulty equal more DNF's. I live in the area and have tried these caches. They all entail a lot of searching (rock piles, roots, cedar shrubs with well camouflaged containers). If this happened to a bunch of quality higher difficulty caches in areas I plan on visiting I would have missed out because some random reviewer disabled it on some made up criteria. This is disturbing because higher quality caches are getting more rare to find.

Would you be willing to log in French while in France???? Didn't think so...

Wear blaze orange and know the hours of the various seasons... I personally try stick to the dreaded urban caches and cemeteries in active hours until the gunfire settles down. If I get shot - well at least I am there all ready...

Geocaching is the best way I know to burn the remaining fossil fuels so we are forced to deal with the issue instead of drilling more...

I have hunted and caught and transported many snakes, poisonous and non. Best thing to do to avoid snake encounters is to carry a long pole/ walking staff in areas with snakes and thud it on the ground while walking. They hunt, and "see" through vibrations, thuds with the sticks says something big and clumsy is coming this way that might step on me - the snake is hiding or skidaddling. Unless trying to catch the snake or get bit - do not poke it with the stick. Only hunting and threatened snakes bite. As mentioned before - most mature snakes want nothing to do with you. If it is standing up to something bigger than it, it is really looking for an escape. Best thing to do (harder said than done for most people) is to stay calm and slowly back away. Give the snake the chance to flee. I really don't know what pepper spray will do to a snake other than tork it off and maybe make it strike blindly. Best to give it some room and give it a chance to flee. Most immature snake bites occur somewhere around this way. "oh look at that tiny snake! Wouldn't it be cute/cool to capture it? Oh I think it bit me" Now you know the situation -- avoid it. Sticking your hands in holes. All geocachers have to do this at one point. If poisonous snakes are in your area. 1. Bang on the tree, rock, stump, with your big stick - big heavy vibrations. Give whatever is hiding a chance to escape. 2. Shine a bright light into the hole - DO NOT stick your head into the hole to see if anything is in there - if the answer is yes it is probably trying to come out. 3. Listen for movement. IF all sounds clear then cautiously approach the area. If still not sure/scared approach with thick leather gloves. Not saying it will stop a bite all of the time - but it does fairly well most of the time. I have been bitten 3 times by poisonous snakes - each time it was by me doing something to tork off the snake. I have never been bitten by giving it a way out, and I have never had a snake not take a way out once presented.

I prefer caching alone, gets me the away time needed to keep me sane. 90% of my caches it is no big deal, worst thing I have to deal with is a tick, or a friendly farm dog. But I do have a survival kit in my car - 80% of which can fit on me for a brisk hike if needed. Probably a little extreme, but I will be prepared for 3-7 days if the zombie apocalypse ever comes down the road. 3 most important things - 1. GPS enabled cell phone/spare battery until they perfect the solar charger. Worst case scenario - text a pick with GPS coords to rescue crew. 2. As much drinking water as you can carry (always more than you think). 3. Good pair of shoes.

I'll admit, I snark, whine, complain, moan, grumble, and make otherwise inane comments in my logs. Almost always it is self depreciating and kicking myself about not being able to find a 5 gallon bucket in a empty parking lot with a neon sign saying hey stupid it is over here... The other times... the cache owner is purposely placing caches just to get under my skin (there are at least 2 firehydrants with my name attached to it). NEVER is the cache or owner the subject of the snark fest... regardless of quality of the cache... it got me out of the house - even if it just got me to autograph another stop sign.

Tick Bait has to be my favorite that I came across as I am kicking myself I hadn't thought of it first.

Streak is currently at 600 days. Original goal was 366 and I just kept going after that. I realize I am ground zero in room104 cacheageddeon area, and I still have MANY caches I have yet to grab. However my personal caching style and out right refusal to use a power trail as such, has kept enough variety to keep it from becoming work, though there have been many days of wondering what the carp I am doing here... This year looks like we may have a real South Dakota winter so I am anticipating a challenge on the goal towards 1000. It has kept my drive home from work from becoming routine, my days off with some sort of activity, and brought my photographer/artist wife out to normal places to look for subject matter. If the streak ends... so be it... I am only keeping track by accident now (like reading blogs like this one - coincidence that it is at a nice round number?) and can easily pick up where I left off without heartbreak, though I am a little unsure how I am going to inform room104 that he had won and broken me...

I live in ground zero of the room104 power acrage. room104 is a single person but there is a team of local cachers (including myself) that are willing and able to help keep the caches up-to-date. I won't throw down any caches, but myself and the other cachers here are perfectly happy with replacing wet logs, trimming up some duct tape, or other minor maintenence. Since I don't have access to his computer - the redflag isn't changed unless he does it through the finds. His numbers are also slightly misleading, though he does have a gazillion active caches, the "power trails" are actively refreshed and rotated when growing stale. Oh my god, please do not tell anybody I am actually supporting him... he might not take my grumbling about having over 2000 unfound caches in my 50 mile radius for over 3 years seriously.

What did I just read?

Random... that is my game. Won't do consecutive caches on a power trail. Won't throwdown but will repair. Normally don't do more than 6 caches a day. My game is the journey... I want to come back. I love to come back to an area that has elicited an emotion in the past (love, hate, frustrated, bore, whatever) and see if it does it again 0.1 miles down the road. I love the challenge to see what a couple of random caches can create. I love to log and release the random brain fart that was going through my mind at the time even if it is just the badly mangled song shoved into my head from the title of the cache. I have looked for containers at earthcaches because I don't read the description. I have DNF'd obvious caches because my brain was stuck on preconceived notions. But I come back and degrade myself on the log for being so stupid the last time around. Even the tick on the signpost caches usually have something worthwhile on the journey. The only number I am concerned about is the 1 cache I try to find each day... all else is gravy. Will always DNF at least the 1st time around because that is part of the journey. The journey and the travel taking me out to wander aimlessly is probably the best time of the day. Signing the scrap of paper is just a chore that has to be done to meet the hobby's requirement. Keep an eye out for the dirty, bucktoothed orange cachemobile putting a little gravel in the travel and lurking around parks and culverts near you...

without going through many pages of old posts and rants and raves. anybody simple list what the PMO fees go to? Is it simply update of the the Groundspeak page? Or is the money going to fund some secret ninja organization that finds all the cachers that place film canisters, cut and paste logs, and don't log DNF's and publicly mock them in multiple on-line forums?????????

I cache to keep me mad. We are all quite mad here........ As to what I do with my life... I go out and do. Sitting and reading about us that do, seems very sad to me.

I always leave an unique post for every cache I find - even the ones where I am picking ticks off of stop signs... Some have nothing more to say than the state of mind I must be in to stop at yet another of the same along a power trail, but I personally can't stop at some alphabet soup. I want to leave some sort of proof that I had been there/ done that and maybe influence others who read the log to try to out random me.

In my experience the question askers usually have a pre-conceived notion and I usually play along with it. I have been everything from a city employee inspecting the park trees, a culvert cleaner, to a homeless person collecting cans. All those came from the person wondering what this freak is doing. Actually the most frustrating experience I have had explaining what I was doing - I was sitting on a bench on a bike trail trying to get the roll of paper out of a micro - when confronted by a police officer wondering what I was doing. Actually told the truth this time (a relative rarity for me)and ended up going through a field sobriety routine because why ever would a 40 year old man be sitting on a bench in 25 degree weather signing a tightly rolled piece of paper - with an alias of manicgecko.... Didn't help that the cache container can be confused by overworked law enforcement eyes as a joint clip --- I guess -- maybe -- so he said. Truth at times is over-rated - but at least I can still recite the alphabet backwards....

I agree with the young baldie... or a very large red tailed hawk - the eagle being more likely. I am impressed with the photo - I never have the camera ready for finds like this

I am going for a personal goal of 1 solid year of at least 1 cache a day. (of course I pick a 366 day leap year) On day 214 right now. This is the time of year it is getting more difficult. there are plenty of caches thanks to an overzealous cache hider in the area, but 12-16 days at work, less than 8 hours or sunlight (which I am at work) and the typical South Dakota winter is making this more of a challenge right now. Had our first snow - just enough to make me nervous, but now I think I'm up to the challenge if work and health cooperates. April 22nd can't come soon enough.

Here in South Dakota frequently see snakes usually of the harmless variety but have run into a few rattlers. Take precautions (long stick and other tools) in rattler friendly areas. But the worst snake encounter was on the harmless garter variety. Of course that doesn't matter much when you are precariously balanced on a 4 inch branch 20 feet up over water and you grab to balance an overhead branch previously occupied by said snake. Needless to say I needed dry (and clean) pants and thank what ever diety that was watching over me that the water was deep enough and I actually had the floating water resistant GPS... Wife wants to know why no pictures.

Don't miss out on all the FUN! Come celebrate 2011 CANBY HAT DAZE, Friday June 17th - 19th in Canby Minnesota. Canby Chamber of Commerce (www.canbychamber.com) is sponsoring a free weekend of small town fun. For this year they will also release several new caches as part of the event, for novice and experienced cachers alike. This is a fun weekend for all ages, hope to see you there. Once in Canby get more information at the Chamber of Commerce tent in Central Park (N44 42.675 W096 16.463) Please stay posted for updates.

Don't miss out on all the FUN! Come celebrate 2011 CANBY HAT DAZE, Friday June 17th - 19th in Canby Minnesota. Canby Chamber of Commerce (www.canbychamber.com) is sponsoring a free weekend of small town fun. For this year they will also release several new caches as part of the event, for novice and experienced cachers alike. This is a fun weekend for all ages, hope to see you there. Once in Canby get more information at the Chamber of Commerce tent in Central Park (N44 42.675 W096 16.463) Please stay posted for updates.

Agree with most - act like you belong and nobody will take notice. But I have scouted caches to find the best times to grab caches. Sometimes the only way to be stealthy is to be there when either nobody else is or everybody else is.

Have to agree with most on this log. I try to do my part with the anti-McToy campaign. I will often exchange a McToy to CITO and replace with stuff my kids like to find, marbles, magnets, rubber lizards etc. If I am lucky enough to find a McToy free cache - I just add or keep a continual trade from one cache to another.